What Holiday Food Am I?

I know I had some holiday in March. But I am already looking forward to another holiday and some delicious holiday food!

You Are a Gingerbread House

A little spicy and a little sweet, anyone would like to be lost in the woods with you.

What Holiday Food Are You?

Hmm, sounds really naughty lol. :P

Monkey Businesses

As I looked at the events of the past week, I realised it was dominated by monkey businesses! Lol.

First, it is, by now, the infamous monkey mating business, haha. :P Already on that day, colleagues who were with me at Seletar were "lamenting" (jokingly, of course) why I didn't capture it on video. When my other friends read about that blog entry Sunburnt Fun, some asked how could I not have captured that?! :P While some asked why was I so tickled by that? Well, we all need some excitement in our lives lol. Never mind, if it is only excitement from seeing monkeys mating away. A colleague said either we (researchers) are very deprived or we are going nuts, haha. Hmm, maybe both I think. :P
That blog entry also resulted in an ex-student of mine laughing in her class. Thank goodness, she wasn't caught by her teacher for not paying attention in class. I am glad I could still make you girls laugh (remember I used to tell you girls jokes in class?) but please NO MORE reading of blogs in class. Pay attention, even if the class is boring. Ok?! Haha.

Second, it is the Kipling bags. I have never been to Kipling shops one day after another. In case, some of you don't understand, the logo for Kipling is a monkey. For some of its collections, each bag has a little monkey hanging from it and each monkey has a name. :) That's why my girls and I also fondly call Kipling the Monkey bag. Actually, I think I buy Kipling bags for the monkeys. Hahaha. :P No lah, Kipling bags are water-resistant, light weight and durable. :)

It has been a fun week with the "monkeys", lol.

Kipling Craze II and Tea Break

We had lunch at home as my mother cooked chicken rice. We won't pass it up for anything, lol. After lunch, we decided to go "walk walk" but undecided where to go. My mother upon hearing we were going out, wanted me to get her the same Kipling bag which I bought from the Kipling boutique at Vivocity just last week. Ok, that's it, my mother has just decided that we are going to Vivocity but I dragged her along. Haha. Since she wanted to buy her bag, she might as go down to the boutique. Who knows, she might decide another bag is better. :)

At the Kipling boutique, the salepersons were clearing away some of the collections to put in new arrivals so it was a little messy and some shelves were empty. Unfortunately for my mother, the bag she wanted no longer had the blue colour. She looked around and did find something else that she likes but it wasn't on sale as it is a new arrival item. She decided she will wait for the Isetan private sale to get the bag from the Kipling counter.

We were tired as we spent an hour at the Kipling boutique lol. :P We went to Pacific Coffee Company for tea. We girls had gelato (strawberry, chocolate, vanilla and tiramusu) and we also shared a Ham and Egg Pie and a Molten Chocolate Cake. The gelato was nice and cooled us down as we were seated outdoors. The chocolate cake was really rich and sweet. It was a pretty relaxing afternoon. :)

Kipling Craze, Choupinette and Lord of The Rings

Today I went out with Juliane. We went to Isetan Scotts as I needed to buy pj for the girls and some items from the supermarket. With the Isetan card, we could save a bit, lol.

As usual, my first stop at Isetan was the Kipling counter, lol. Currently, they are having a 30% off for selected regular-priced items. For sale items, they are as much as 50% off for some! Quite worth it! Hahaha. Ok, it might be worth it to me only as I am crazy about Kipling bags lol. I was just causally looking through the sale items and saw the cutest Kipling mini handbag! It is a miniature of the adult handbag. Really cute! It is just nice for the girls and it is 50% off, at only $49.50. Hmm, it is time to introduce Kipling handbags to the girls. Hahaha. Must share the joy, right? :P I got both girls the same mini handbag but in different colours, Juliane purple and Marieann red. :) They look quite good on me too, I can borrow from the girls. Lol. :P

After being sidetracked at Kipling, we returned to our shopping and then adjourned to Sakae for lunch. No choice, since Juliane hasn't had it for a while. Wah, Sakae has upped the prices. Sigh. Inflation, what to do?! :(

We got home around 2:30pm. After that, I had a pretty relaxing afternoon reading a novel and napping, lol.

***
The other morning, after registering Marieann for Primary 1, the girls' father and I wanted to have a quick breakfast before he sent me to work. However, not many places were opened for breakfast. We had almost given up hope and thought Mckkies might be the only choice when we happened to chance upon Choupinette which is along the way to my work place, lol. Choupinette is a quaint little French bistro along Bukit Timah Road. I like the decor and the atmosphere. :)

We both had the Laurent's Set ($18+): egg (scrambled, fried or poached) with sausage (chicken or pork), a "tomato provencale" and bread roll with small juice and hot/ cold drink. I had scrambled egg with pork sausage, grapefruit juice and iced passion fruit tea while the girls' father also had scrambled egg but with chicken sausage, orange juice and iced mocha. I never ate my breakfast so fast! Lol. It was really good, specially the scrambled egg and pork sausage. The egg was moist with a creamy consistency. The pork sausage was nicely herbed and with bits in it. It was very nice and full of flavour and bite.


I will come back to this bistro again to try its other dishes. :)

***
Am watching The Lord of The Rings while writing this entry. LOTR is one movie or rather a trilogy that I will never tire of watching. My family all rolled their eyes when they saw me watching The Two Towers last week and now The Return of the King today lol. I can't help it, LOTR is a great epic fantasy! :)

Road Trip

I used to go on road trips with two good friends when I was in Australia. We have done road trips in Queensland and Victoria. The guys would take turns to drive while I just relax and enjoy the scenery cos I can't drive lol. Unfortunately, I haven't had the chance to go on road trips any more. Hopefully, I will again one day. Maybe when I learn to drive, haha. :P

Here is what the Road Trip test say about me, lol.

The Road Trip of Your Life

You see romantic love as what's most important in life. A deep connection with someone else is the primary thing you crave. Your life is quite hectic. You try to slow down when you can, but it's not easy! You're willing to take a few risks in life. You may not take the road no one travels, but you're happy to take the road less traveled. You are able to find a fairly healthy balance between work and play. You work when you need to, but you never let yourself burn out. In another life, you could have been a great artist. You trust your creative instincts enough to let them lead you.

The Road Trip Test

Primary 1 Registration

This is the time of the year where parents of 6 year olds would be registering their children for Primary 1 in the school of their choice the following year. There are a number of different phases for registering the child for Primary 1. Click here.

It can be a very stressful period for some parents. Actually, the stress can start as early as two years before. For parents who want their children to get into certain schools (usually the popular and good ones) and they aren't old girls or old boys, they would have to start doing voluntary work at the school at least 2 years prior to their children registering for Primary 1. And these voluntary work for the school may not 100% guarantee a place because the popular schools more often than not, always have to ballot the remaining places. So for these parents, getting into a particular popular school can be considered as lucky as striking the lottery. :)

I am lucky that I am an old girl and a member of the SCGS alumni. I was able to register Marieann in Phase 2A1. I was at my alma mater at 8:15am and I was Queue No. 6. Lol. My former colleagues were delighted to see me. Yar, I was once a teacher at SCGS, lol. I spent time chatting with them while the girls' father filled up the forms. By 8:50am, everything was done and Marieann has been confirmed of a place for Primary 1 in 2009. :) This also means that Juliane will automatically get into SCGS too when her turn comes for Primary 1 registration. Hahaha. I am very glad that I only have daughters because I know they can get into SCGS through me. It would be a nightmare if I have a son because the girls' father was formerly a Malaysian and the schools closest to us are Nanyang, Henry Park, ACS... See the problem? Thank goodness. Lol.

The Happening is Happening...

WARNING: May contain SPOILERS!
For environmentalists, environmental conservationists, The Happening is happening and it is a happening movie, I think lol. I watched The Happening in the evening.

The movie wasted no time in throwing us into the mystery. It started with people doing strange things in Central Park, New York; the school where the main character Elliot is teaching is cancelled due to apparent "terrorist attack"; construction workers jumping off building; people shooting themselves in the head,... Soon, you have Elliot, his wife, Alma, Elliot's teacher friend, Julian and his daughter, Jesse leaving on a train for safety. Things started going downhill when the train stopped in the middle of nowhere. News started coming in of similar strange occurrences in other states but contained to the northeast US. Julian entrusted his daughter, Jesse to the care of Elliot and Alma while he went to look for his wife. Elliot and company, and others left for the state line. People in the group started getting affected and killing themselves whenever a strange wind blew, rustling the trees, the bushes and the grass.... Elliot finally believed that the plants were killing people by releasing some kind of toxin and the toxin was triggered by the threat, ie. the big groups of people, the plants perceived. More things happened in between and people continued to die... Then, the mystery/ the crisis ended as suddenly as it appeared. Three months later, life was almost back to normal for Elliot, Alma and Jesse. A scientist on a talk show warned that the strange occurrence was a sign, like a red tide, that the planet is fighting back against Man who have been polluting the environment. The host said if what the scientist said was true, it should be happening in other places. Just then, we are shown France and it has started again.

My initial thought of the movie was I didn't like it because there is no twist. It is just a natural occurrence, a very simple event happening. I much preferred M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense which had drama, mystery, thriller, supernatural. The Happening is just very plain.

However, as I thought more about the movie, I realised that there was more to it. Although a plain movie, it has a powerful message for us, about us destroying our environment, our planet. If we don't change our ways now, maybe our planet might take matters into her own hands, like in the movie, and crush us like cockroaches. Who knows, our planet might already be fighting back. I think students might enjoy watching this movie as it would provoke them to think about environmental conservation. The Happening might engaged them more than the documentaries such as An Inconvenient Truth, and The 11th Hour, lol.

Verdict: I like The Happening for the thoughts it provoked.

Charming Work

I volunteered for an assignment today. I thought I probably won't get it as I am only a small fry. To my surprise, I actually got it. :) Excellent! A good friend told me most people would not have volunteered for things like that because no one wants to take on more work. Hmm, does that mean I am an idiot, asking for more work? Maybe, but I prefer to see it as a learning experience. That's me. :)

The admin staff said I got the assignment because I am charming. Hahaha. That's funny. I don't think I am always charming. I do have my uncharming days, lol. Tried out this Blogthing "Are you charming?".

You Are Pretty Charming

While you're not a natural charmer, you can be charming when you want to be. And lucky for those around you, you usually feel like turning on the charm. You project a happy, calm image - even when you're feeling the exact opposite. You make people feel great about being around you... though you're not always up for putting in the effort.

Are You Charming?

Sunburnt Fun

I think I am sunburnt, lol. I forgot to bring my sunblock when I went into the office today. Oh well, the sky looked pretty overcast in the late morning. Hmm... maybe I might not need the sunblock...

I was helping out my PI on another project about Natural Science learning. There were students from a few schools who had to carry out a number of activities at four stations at Seletar Reservoir, 2:15 to 5pm. My job was to video record the students while engaging in their activities. My PI and I went with a group of students to the station: Stream. Although there were trees along the sides, the stream had to be right smack in the path of the sun. So much for overcast sky! Sigh. Just my luck. :(

Despite the sun, I had lots of fun. Hahaha, it rhymes. :P
The first laugh was when the students were just about to start their first activity with the teachers. As we were in a forested area, there were monkeys around. My PI and I heard some rustling from the trees and we both turned to look (which happened to be in the opposite direction of the students so none of the students saw what happened). We saw a pair of monkeys on the ground and another one a little way off from the pair. I had my camcorder out and my PI had her camera out and we were both shooting. The pair of monkeys decided to put on a show for us. They started mating in front of us! Our jaws dropped. Wah man, this is better than watching National Geographic HAHAHA. I was zooming in with the camcorder when I realised I didn't know if students were going to watch it or not. I didn't want to be blamed for corrupting their young minds lol. I shut the camcorder to ask my PI for permission. She said, "Aiya, just take lah, haha". Alamak, by the time I re-focused, the monkeys had finished their job. Ah? So fast? Chey, no stamina. Hahaha. But I am still tickled to see animals mating in real life. Lol. Ok lah, I am deprived, never see before. Haha. :P
The other laughs came about when the students got stuck in the muddy plains right next to the stream and in the process, losing their shoes, crocs shoes, slippers and having to fish for them in the mud. Yes, I know I am very mean to laugh at them. But it was pretty funny sights.

I followed the same group of student to the next station: Soil where it is inside the forest. Now, no longer assaulted by deadly UV rays, I am instead assaulted by high humidity and mossies. Darn, I didn't have insect repellent! Really just my luck, no sunblock, no insect repellent! Sigh. It was really a feat trying to keep still to do the video recording and trying to swat the mossies too! Thank goodness, the students saw and came to my aid with insect repellents. The students sprayed with me with two different kinds of insect repellents, one was lemon grass scented and the other, orange scented. Gosh, the scents sure don't blend very well. I smelled funny. Hmm, maybe it was payback for laughing at them when they got stuck in the mud. Lol. Oh well, the students were being nice. I am grateful to them despite smelling a little strange. :P

The field trip ended around 5:30pm. My PI kindly sent me home. At least I was able to drop into bed sooner for a much needed snooze. Lol. :P

Fusion Lunch At Serenity

We went to Vivocity close to 12:30pm for lunch. The girls' father wanted to have Japanese but I wasn't too keen as we just had Japanese last weekend. There were queues at some of the restaurants. We walked around and I decided to try Serenity Restaurant & Bistro. The decor looks nice - blue and white, like that of the Mediterranean. :)

No wonder, blue and white, it is Mediterranean fusion cuisine at Serenity. The girls both had Seta del Sol or Mushroom Sunrise ($5.50): creamy mixed mushroom soup with turmeric which came with 3 pieces of bread drizzled with olive oil. They enjoyed the bread very much but not the soup, I guessed the soup had a tad too much black pepper in them for the girls' liking.


The girls' father had Vongole Vino ($16): clams braised in white wine, lemon grass, lime leaf, blue ginger, lime juice with fish sauce bouillabaisse. He didn't like it very much as he thought it was like pasta in tom yam soup. I tried a spoon. I guessed the lemon grass, lime leaf, and lime juice have overpowered the taste of white wine.


I had the set lunch ($17.50++): Garden salad with thousand island, Coriander chicken with herb-baked tomato, paprika fries and chili jam and Vanilla ice cream with digestive crumble and wolfberries. It is interesting that they put dried wolfberries in the salad and in the dessert. It didn't taste too bad as the wolfberries were sweet but without the usual medicinal taste lol. The chicken wasn't too bad either. The skin was crispy and the meat was tender and juicy. Looks like I am the only one who enjoyed my lunch lol.




The food at Serenity is Mediterranean fusion with a strong Asian twist. It is not too bad if you don't mind the Asian feel to the dishes. The prices are pretty reasonable too.


After lunch, I skipped to Esprit to get my sunglasses fixed. I was willing to pay for the part and the service rendered. But the Esprit store manager got it fixed free of charge and get this, she brought it to an optical shop nearby! How's that for excellent service?! :) :) On my way to Esprit, I did get sidetracked and went into the Kipling boutique. No prize for guessing what happened. Hahaha. But it is really worth it, a Kipling bag at 50% off! Lol. :P

Alone Time

Today was supposed to be my weekend routine with Juliane. But she decided to stick with my mother. So I have been abandoned, lol. Oh well, I will just spend some time alone then.

I went to Ikea at 10am to look around. Got myself some plastic containers, haven't decided though if I should use them at home or at work. I had actually wanted to get a photo frame too but realised it is too big. Maybe I would look around elsewhere. After I made my purchase, I had the Ikea hot dog, loaded with tomato sauce and mustard, lol. I relished every bite of my hot dog, it was pure enjoyment! :) After Ikea, I walked over to Anchorpoint to get a few things from Cold Storage, like milk, bread, and biscuits as snacks haha.

I was supposed to work on the slides for my upcoming workshop in August. But I was distracted by Sandman (zzZZ) first and then by Reilly's The Six Sacred Stones.

Now, five hours later, I have just put down the book. I have finished reading the book! I will write a review about it later.. :) Guess I have no more excuses not to work on my slides... Will probably stay up late because I had four hours of nap in the afternoon lol. :P

Shoes, Lipstick and Bra

I really have no idea why kids want to grow up so fast.

On several occasions, I have found my shoes misplaced. The girls have been walking in my shoes literally. They claimed that they want to be like me, a grown up. Sigh. Hold your horses, girls. Your turn will come.

Just on Tuesday, I came home after work to discover Juliane broke my lipstick in half. She was trying to put on the lipstick so that in her words, "I want to be like Ma Ma" but she used too much strength and broke it. Hmm, maybe must lay off her milk lol. I wanted to be angry with her but couldn't as she admitted her wrongdoing and apologised.

On another occasion, I discovered both girls playing with my bra. Sigh. I told them to wait for another ten years at least before they could wear that. Lol. Juliane actually had the audacity to ask me to buy a lace bra for her. Gosh! I didn't know whether to laugh or to be angry with her. Lol. :P

Girls, take your time to grow up. Enjoy your childhood first, ok? Lol.

I Am..

A snake! Hahaha. According to Blogthings, I am a snake. Well, that is going to go down well with my mother. She's terrified of snakes.

You Are a Snake

You have extraordinarily sharp senses. You sense what's going on almost before it happens. You connect with the world. People instantly feel close to you. You are a natural protector. You take good care of your friends. You are an ambitious person. Your ambitious drives you. But while you are ambitious, you are also humble. You are thankful for everything you have.

What Reptile Are You?

But it didn't sound too bad leh. Lol.

Great to be Back

Today, I started my counselling again after a month long holiday.

The counsellees were happy to see me. Those who weren't scheduled for today, actually looked me up hoping to see me today. Sorry, girls. Next week, ok? It is great to see my counsellees again. It is heartening to hear them chatting away with me despite a month's break. :) Sometimes, I think what most of the girls needed was someone to listen to them, someone to encourage them, someone to believe in them, someone to point them in the directions they could go, and someone to give them a nudge and a push now and then. Actually I think most of us need someone like that once in a while too. Lol. :)

It is great to be back counselling again.

New Book

I have a new book to read, courtesy of a good friend. :) It is "The Six Sacred Stones" by my favourite author, Matthew Reilly. It has been a while since I read his books. This book features the same hero, Jack West Jr from an earlier book, "Seven Ancient Wonders". I really loved that story and have been waiting for this book to be out in paperback.

I can't wait to start reading it tonight! I hope I will be discipline enough to not finish the whole book by tonght lol. I will write a review of it when I am done with the book. :)

My Dream House

I think everyone has their own dream house. I am no exception. :) It is interesting that Blogthings could use one's envision of his/ her dream house to "diagnose" one's personality. My responses in orange.

What the House Test Says About You

You consider yourself important, but no more important than anyone else. You love attention, but you don't feel like you deserve more of it than anyone else. Everyone is equal. But of course in this world and society, there will always be people who think they are more important and deserve more attention than everyone else. You are a fairly community oriented person. You like to get to know your neighbors, but you also like your privacy. You get attached to neighborhoods and cities. That's why I have stayed in District 10 all my life. You are a playful, charming, and seductive person. People feel instantly close to you. Hahaha. Is it?! You look good in a low maintenance sort of way. You do the minimum required to be attractive. Can do better, I guess, but too lazy. Lol. You are moved by what's exotic and unique. You often have the mentality of a traveler, even when you're not traveling. Yes, I am easily curious about and much intrigued by new things, exotic things and unique things.

The House Test

Dozo Lunch, Family Dinner

Earlier part of today was rainy. I wanted to go to The Central for some Japanese food as we haven't been there for a while. In the end, we went to Dozo at Valley Point, somewhere closer to home lol.

The girls had the kids' meals ($15.80++) which included a mushroom soup, a main course, chef's dessert and orange juice. Juliane had Teriyaki Chicken with Japanese Udon while Marieann had Breaded Dory with Cheesy Rice. The pictures of the girls' meals are shown in a previous post. Today's dessert was different, vanilla ice cream in a chocolate cup.


For the adults' set lunch ($38.80), we were given a starter which consisted of scallop, foie gras and smoked salmon. The taste was just as good as the last time we had it. Again, we were given a mango sorbet drink to prime our palate for our next dishes. Pictures can be seen in the same previous post.

For side dish, the girls' father had Steamed Egg Custard with scallop and foie gras topped with caviar which I had the last time (picture in previous post). I had the Gratinated Escargots with garlic and yuzu butter. I love the cheese and the yuzu butter which brought a refreshing taste to the escargots.


For soup, we both had Seafood Bisque. Still the same taste. :) Again, picture in previous post.

For the main course, the girls' father had Tender Pork rolled in 4 ways on Cus Cus. Unfortunately, I was too busy attacking my prawns that I forgot to ask for a bite. He said the pork was quite tough and it was only okay.


I had Gratinated King Prawn with Risotto. The prawns were big, fresh and cheesy. The risotto was infused with butter and really fragrant. I really love my main course. It was very filling too.


For desserts, the girls' father tried their cheesecake which is going to be on their new menu soon. I had a small bite and I thought the cake was pretty rich and cheesy. But then I love cheese so I didn't mind it.


I had Japanese "mua-chi" with Raspberry ice cream. The mua-chi balls which were rolled in grated peanuts, black and white sesame seeds, were really fragrant and sweet with the sesame and peanut fillings in them. The slight sourish taste of the raspberry ice cream gave balance to the mua-chi balls.


We had the same drinks we ordered the last time: I, the Iced Fruity Refresher and the girls' father, Iced Mallow Apple Melody.

Like the last time, it was a really good lunch. The girls enjoyed their lunch experience too. :)


***
For dinner, I had my cousins over at my place. It has been a while since they were at our place as my parents were away. Now that my parents are back, the lunch gatherings and dinner gatherings have started again lol.

It was great catching up with my cousins again. One of them, my cousin-in-law is due soon in early July. She is pretty excited and nervous at the same time as it is her first child and she asked about my labour experience lol. I guess I am the atypical person to ask about my labour experiences because I hardly had any prolonged labour pains. My first birthing lasted only 3.5 hours from my first contraction to the final push. My second birthing only lasted 1.5 hours! Both times I was without Epidural hahaha. :P Told you, I am not the person to ask. For me, I thought birthing is pretty easy and not that painful HAHAHA.

Japan, Italy, Sweden, Hong Kong

Sounds like we have been travelling, huh? Lol.

Japan = Isetan
Juliane and I went to Isetan in the late morning. There is a Hokkaido Fair going on at the moment. We went to buy the girls' favourite Kushi Dango Rice Cakes, actually my favourite too. :) I also bought a blouse and a dress, haha. :P

Italy = Cream Bistro
We went back to Cream Bistro, Pacific Plaza for lunch. We ordered a Chicken Pasta ($8) to share. It's an Italian dish, so that's how Italy came about, lol. The spaghetti with chicken, mushroom and capsicum was cooked in cream sauce with parmesan cheese. The taste was great and again, they were generous with the ingredients and the serving portion. I also ordered a Iced Lychee Peach Tea ($3.50). I thought it was pretty good too, exotic and sweet. :)



Sweden = Ikea
After dinner, we went to Ikea, Alexandra Road to buy a study table for Marieann (and Juliane in the future). I used to have a study table from Ikea when I was young which I used for 20 years! I really liked the design. Guess what?! Ikea still have it, or at least a very similar design. :) We also got her a chair and a table lamp. The table and chair will be delivered on Monday. :)

Hong Kong = Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe
Marieann was hungry so after our shopping at Ikea, we walked over to Xin Wang Hong Kong Cafe at Anchorpoint. Marieann had a Soup Noodles with Chye Poh Egg and Pork Floss ($7.50). Juliane shared a French Toast ($3.90) with her father who ordered a Ice Blended HK Milk Tea ($4.90). I had a Ice HK Milk Tea ($2.90) and an Almond Cream with Peanut Dumplings ($4.50). I thought the taste is pretty okay. Once you have been to one HK style cafe, it all tastes the same.

Crocs Fetish

Tonight, my mother arrived home from Taiwan. My girls, my father and I went to the airport to pick her up. We arrived at the airport just after her plane touched down at 8:06pm. While waiting for my mother at Arrival Gate 23, something funny happened to the girls.

There was this little boy about 1+ years old standing next to us with his parents. He was also waiting for his grandmother. My girls were standing side by side right in front of the glass panel. The boy was near by. Slowly, the boy inched closer to the girls and then he squatted down. Juliane was the closest to him. So she got it first.

The little boy stuck his finger into the holes of Juliane's Crocs shoes! Juliane had a shock but she didn't say anything. She moved slightly away from him. But the little boy continued to stick his finger into the holes of her Crocs shoes. Haha. It was very funny. The boy's mother stopped him and Juliane took that opportunity to move next to my father. Now Marieann was next to the little boy and he did it again - stuck his finger into the holes of Marieann's Crocs shoes. This time round, I laughed out loud. Oops. :P The boy's mother apologised and took the boy away to another corner.

That incident was really funny. Ok, fine, maybe I was the only one who thought it was pretty darn funny, my girls didn't. Lol. Hmm, isn't it rather young for the little boy to start having a fetish?! Hahaha. :P

"You've become a techie!"

That was the subject title on my Facebook message from an old SCGS friend. Hahaha. :) Below is her message:

"I needed some distraction from writing my reports and started to read your blog for lack of anything else to do. OMG, you've become a tech-nerd - it's amazing considering that a few years ago, you couldn't even send a text message!! Ha ha ha!"

Thanks, K. I will take that as a big compliment! :) Yup, Friends, you read right! I was a complete IT idiot when it came to technical gadgets a few years ago. I didn't even know how to read my text messages nor know how to send them. LOL. :P But since joining my current workplace, I have become a little more IT savvy, lol. I learnt how to receive and send text messages, learnt how to MSN, and learnt how to blog. :) I have also learnt how to take videos, download them and compress them using the iMac. :) Not bad huh? Lol. But I still have a long way to go, a lot more to learn before I even dare to call myself a techie. Hahaha.

My Brother, YM

My brother, YM currently lives in UK with his family. He has been there for 18 years since he was 14 years old. In a previous post, I have mentioned that I am proud of him and his achievements. Yesterday, he proved to me again why I am proud of him.

I received an email from him that he is going to take part in the London Bikeathon to raise money for the Leukaemia Research on 13 July 2008 and he would welcome support and sponsorship. I am really surprised that he would take part in the bikeathon for a good cause that he believes in. Good on you, YM. I am really proud of you! By the way, your bro-in-law and I have just donated £40 to your cause. Have fun riding on 13 July. But, be careful too, ok?

I think my brother might be a bit uncomfortable with what I am going to do next but I think what he is doing is worth mentioning and something to be proud of. It is for a good cause. If you - my friends, my family, my readers, feel it is a good cause and you can spare some change, maybe you can think about making a small donation? Here is his fundraising page http://www.justgiving.com/yawmingwong. Thank you.

Started on...

My dissertation again. Well, I have started looking up articles again for my dissertation. I guess that is considered working on my dissertation, right? Lol. I have had too long a break... and I can no longer stand my friends and colleagues nagging at me to quickly finish my PhD! So to have some peace, I thought I better get going again with my dissertation. Lol. :P

To be honest, it was pretty exciting going through the journals (available online) and looking for articles that I could use for my dissertation. It was a mini rush for me each time I found a suitable article that I could use. :) And what do you know, a good friend who came by my work station, found that he could use some of the articles I have found, lol. Not bad, i not only helped myself, it turned out I am able to help another person, lol. :) My good deed for the day. Hahaha. :)

PS. By the way, I have been married for 8 years today. But nothing from the man I married. Tsk tsk. MAJOR SIGH! But if he thinks he is going to be off the hook so easily, think again. Muahahaha.

Scorpio = Crab = Lobster

My mother has been teaching the girls about the different Chinese zodiac signs... about their own Chinese zodiac animal signs.

I thought I would tell them about their Western zodiac signs. Marieann is a Capricorn which is half goat and half fish. In terms, she could understand, she is a Mergoat, lol. Juliane is a Pisces which is a pair of fish. That is simple enough for Juliane to understand. Juliane then asked about my sign. I showed them a picture of my sign and proudly told them I am a Scorpio. The conversation that followed made me want to cry and laugh at the same time.

Me: That's Ma Ma's sign, Scorpio.
Marieann: Orh, you are a crab.
Me: What?! No, it is not a crab!
Juliane: I know, you are a lobster! (both girls started giggling)
Me: NO, I am a Scorpio!

Alamak, I felt so insulted. Fancy a powerful sign like the Scorpio being reduced to a crab and a lobster and they dared to laugh! Sigh. Okay lah, looking at the positive side of things, they were able to make links because of the pinchers, lol. :P

I'm Hit...

By the lazy/ procrastination bug. :P I didn't tidy and clear my bookshelf and side table as I said I might. No, actually, it was because I slept really late the night before at 5am and only woke up around 9am+. :P I was clearing clutter and reorganising the data in my old Acer notebook before I transfer the data into my new Acer notebook. Cleared almost 2GB of junk! Gosh, I really do have a lot of junk in my notebook, lol. :P

We went to Raffles City around 11am. I was trying to locate the Garskin shop but sadly it is no longer there. Guess I have no choice but to order the garskin and apply it myself. But wait, there is a good friend who said he will help me do that. :) I am holding him to his words. Haha.

We walked over to Seah Street Deli, Raffles Hotel for lunch. They have re-vamped the Kids' menu. Juliane had Little Einstein ($9): crispy fish nuggets with tartar sauce and steamed potato and Marieann had Spiderman ($8): tomato cheese pizza with ham and a net of mayo. Both their dishes were tasty and they finished almost everything on their plates. :)

The girls' father had Macaroni & Cheese with pork sausages ($12.50): macaroni in a rich cheese sauce. It was very rich and cheesy, lol. He thought it was too rich for his liking. But both Juliane and I liked it very much and we pinched several spoons of it from him. :P


I had Sicilian Chicken ($18): half rotisserie chicken with vegetables and potato wedges. The chicken was tender and juicy. The spices on the chicken were just nice. :) Marieann liked my chicken and she pretty much had 1/3 of my chicken and my potato wedges. :P




For desserts, we bought donuts from Donut Factory. It was by chance that I bought donuts from there. I was walking around with Marieann and I saw there were only 3 people in the queue. So why not just get some donuts? The girls' father said I am very lucky to be in such a short queue lol. Hmm, yes, I can be pretty lucky in some things like that, lol. :P Indeed, when I was being served, there was a queue of at least a dozen people behind me.

My father came back from Xiamen in the evening. As my father isn't into restaurant food, it was quite difficult when we want to take him out for a meal, he would always refused to go. Since he hasn't been back for a while, I knew he would be craving for one particular dish - Chicken rice, lol. At first, he didn't want to go out for dinner but when I mentioned chicken rice, it was an immediate OK! Haha. Our first choice was crowded and had no parking so my father suggested going to Tiong Bahru Market instead. So at TBM, we had our chicken rice dinner. We also packed Hokkien Fried Noodles for supper, lol. :P

PS. Friend who is laughing at me, yes I do eat at markets too. Some of the stalls have excellent food, ok?! Lol. :)

Daiso and Daiso Again.

Yup, I went to Daiso twice today lol.

Juliane and I went to Plaza Singapura in the late morning. I wanted to have a look at pda phones (there are several phone shops there) and I needed bar magnets from Daiso, lol. :P After looking at the phones, we went to Daiso. I can hear a good friend from work laughing at me for going to Daiso again. I got my magnets and Juliane her highlighters. Beats me why she needs them, maybe I borrow them from her when I am doing my readings, lol. We went to the food court for lunch. I think I can hear yet another good friend from work laughing. Hey, I do eat at food court, okay?! Lol. :P

In the afternoon, I tidied up my study table. Managed to clear a bagful of junk, lol. I still have the bookshelf and a side table to go through. I will probably do that tomorrow, if the procrastination/ lazy bug doesn't hit me first. Hahaha. :P

After dinner, we went to Vivocity. And again, I went to Daiso but with Marieann this time round lol. I got more magnets and Marieann got something for my father hahaha. After our shopping, we went for a drink at Corduroy Cafe. The girls had their cupcake and pancakes. (Pictures of food have been shown here in a September 2007 post.) I had a Milk Infusion with Lavender and Honey ($6). I thought it might relax me enough to sleep earlier tonight. Nay, I don't think so as there are several DVDs waiting for me to watch them lol.

My New Notebook and New Hard Disk

I have been looking around for a new notebook. Since the PC show is on and today is a non working day for me, I thought I would just go have a look. There might be some good deals around. :) While there are many brands around, somehow I found myself gravitating towards booths that have Acer notebooks, lol. I have been using my current Acer Travelmate since early 2005 with no problems all these years (only recently there is a problem). So, personally I think Acer is pretty good although some of my friends don't fancy Acer, lol. Since I am used to Acer and am happy with it, then I might as well stick with Acer, right? Lol. :P

After going through a few booths with Acer notebooks, I finally got my Acer Aspire 4920G for $1598 at one particular booth with some pretty good free gifts. I got my RAM upgraded to 4GB, an extended 2 years' local warranty, a MS Office Home & Student Edition, an Anti-virus package, a Cooler Master cooler fan, an optical mouse and a Garskin for my new notebook. Not bad, huh?! :) :) :) Yes, I am all smiles! :P

Since I am already at the PC show, might as well get a new hard disk. I bought a WD My Passport Essential 250GB portable hard disk for under $130. I wanted a red one but it was out of stock. So I went for a blue one. Now I can transfer all my photos into this new hard disk as my old hard disk (of only 40GB) is fast running out of space. :)

Hmmm, what should I get next? How about my PDA phone?? Asked about SE Xperia but it won't be out until late 2008 or early 2009. Guess I have to look at other alternatives then, lol. Maybe a Samsung SGH-i780 or a HTC Touch Diamond. Lol. Yeah, I think I am on a shopping spree now. Haha. :P

Music from The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian

Here are two songs which really caught my attention from the movie, The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian. Well, the music scores are pretty good too but these two songs just captivated me. The Call by Regina Spektor is simply haunting and beautiful. It touches a chord within my soul. This is Home by Switchfoot is just as good and very catchy too.
Caution: The music videos contain scenes from the movie.

Spare the Rod (Not)

I personally believe that if you spare the rod, you spoil the child. No, I am not a child abuser. I do know the difference between disciplinary caning and child abuse. I don't cane my girls for no reason. I don't enjoy caning them. It actually hurts me more than them.

I use caning as one of the disciplinary consequences. And yes, the girls do know what are the consequences if they failed to do what they were told or if they have done what they were told specifically not to do. The girls would be warned twice first with wait time in between for them to get their acts together. With the third warning, I would just count to three before reaching for the cane. Often, they would get their acts together before I could reach the count of "3". But of course, sometimes, they would test me to see if I was just giving an empty threat. So no choice, I would have to carry out the caning of usually not more than 3 strokes. Usually after the caning, I would explain to the girls why I had to cane them. By the way, the canes I used are the small thin ones that you can still buy from the market. The cane marks are usually gone within 30 minutes.

I usually have at least 2 canes at home. But Juliane snapped them about a month ago. She was pretty happy that she did that as I couldn't cane them anymore. However, I managed to buy four canes (two as spares, lol) yesterday. When I stepped through the door with the canes in my hands, Juliane gave a high pitch scream which lasted for some time. LOL. It was really funny to see her expression. She must be thinking, "Ahhh, I am not rid of the canes". Hahaha. Please, before you start having the wrong ideas, Juliane's scream was actually more in jest than in fear. For we all burst out laughing, including Juliane, after her scream.

PS. For those who are unsure about caning, please have a look at this article: Spare the Rod? (Please click on the link http://faculty.biola.edu/paulp/spare_the_rod.htm). It has made some good points about the difference between disciplinary caning/ spanking and "the abusive, harmful forms of corporal punishment".

Bedtime

Juliane usually sleeps around 9pm-ish. Tonight, She asked her older sister to sleep with her but her sister refused, "Mei Mei, you talk too much! I don't want to sleep with you". Juliane started arguing with her sister that she doesn't talk too much. Before the argument could escalate into a quarrel, I stepped in and offered to accompany Juliane to bed.

While lying in bed, Juliane started talking. I shhhhh-ed her. But she continued talking. So I decided to keep quiet and not answer her at all. It worked. She stopped talking too. But instead, she started to sing!

".. I have got the whole world in my hands, I have got the whole world in my hands..." It was off tune and was pretty funny. But I couldn't laugh as I had to pretend I was asleep, lest she starts talking to me again. Soon her song became "I have got you and me in my hands, I have got you and me in my hands..." and it went on for quite a while. She was quiet again. I thought "Great! She is finally asleep". But I was wrong. She started talking to herself.

Her monologue went from about the life cycle of a seed (with actions too! I peeped to see what she was up to.) to telling herself a story to a pretend "conversation" with her friend (I hope it was a pretend conversation!). Goodness, she really talks a lot. No wonder, Marieann refused to sleep with her sister, haha. Hmmm, I wonder where Juliane gets her talkative trait from, lol. :P

Finally, Juliane was fast asleep by 10pm. Just in time for me to watch the new season of CSI: NY. Lol.

Knowledge

A few of my favourite quotes on Knowledge:

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young. - Henry Ford
Hmm, maybe that's why I look younger than my actual age??!! Hahaha.

Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge. - Kahlil Gibran
True, only when you are confused, puzzled, or uncertain, would you seek out knowledge.

We live on an island surrounded by a sea of ignorance. As our island of knowledge grows, so does the shore of our ignorance. - John A. Wheeler
Only when we learn more, we realised there is still so much more that we don't know.

People who know little are usually great talkers, while men who know much say little. - Jean Jacques Rousseau
I am not a great talker so I know a lot?? Haha. Only joking. :P

There is much pleasure to be gained in useless knowledge. - Bertrand Russell
Yes. Like Templar Knights were the first bankers, Friday the 13th came about because of the Templar Knights too, lol.

The most difficult thing in life is to know yourself. - Thales
My personal favourite. It is true, you will never know yourself entirely. With each new situation, each new circumstance, you learn a little more about yourself. It is a life-long learning about myself.

Taking It Easy

When I woke up this morning, I was still having a slight headache. But at least, it was not as bad as last night. It was only a dull kind of pain.

Today also happened to be my weekend routine with Wen Jiah. Since I was still having a slight headache, I preferred not to go too far from home. I took her to our favourite haunt, Isetan Scotts. When we neared Isetan, we saw the Thai Festival at the Thai Embassy. So we went for a look around. I bought some food products such as banana chips and mango chips for the girls. I bought a pair of earrings for myself, lol. While walking around Isetan, we met a professor from work. It wasn't the first time we met her at Isetan lol. Guess it is her favourite haunt too haha.

We went to a new place for lunch, Cream Bistro at Pacific Plaza. It serves Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Thai, Western food, sandwiches, and desserts. I ordered the Chicken Udon ($8) for Wen Jiah. The waitress was really nice and told me that the serving was big for Wen Jiah and asked me to hold back ordering my food until the udon has arrived. Thank goodness for her suggestion. The udon was indeed a big serving. It was just nice for the both of us. The chef was really generous with the ingredients in the udon - chicken slices, mushroom slices, cabbage, carrot, and egg. We both enjoyed the udon very much. I think I will come back to this place again to try the other dishes. :)

Headache, Dinner, Headache

My tension headache started in the afternoon in the midst of my meeting. I thought other than stress, it might also be related to the fact that I didn't have a proper lunch, so maybe blood sugar was too low or something.

We went for buffet dinner at Triple 3, Mandarin Hotel. For once, I didn't enjoy my dinner as much. My headache was worse than I thought. But I managed to eat some food and took some photos too. I think Triple 3 is pretty good for their spread of western food: fresh seafood (oysters, mussels, crayfish, prawns), salads/ appetisers, cooked dishes (chicken, pork, lamb, beef, ...), and they also have an Asian spread (Chinese, Japanese). The dessert selection is not too bad either: cakes, pralines, chocolate fondue, ice cream, ... One unique thing about Triple 3 is that half a lobster cooked with butter orange sauce was served with mashed potato to every adult.






We got home by 9pm. I tried to sleep early. Managed to sleep only for two hours before I woke up to a pounding headache. Sigh. Food didn't help, sleep didn't help... I can't take medicine because I am allergic to them. I drank peppermint tea, rubbed lavender oil on my temple, tried breathing exercises but nothing seemed to work well to relieve me of my headache... SIGH.

If anyone know of any alternative methods to relieve headaches, do let me know. Thanks in advance.

Miss Grouchy

I was Miss Grouchy today.

I was still feeling okay in the morning, especially after my raspberry toast breakfast. Was high on the sweetness of the jam. :P However, my mood started spiralling downhill after 1pm... :( Maybe it was an aftereffect of too much sugar from my breakfast, maybe my blood sugar was low, maybe I am uneasy about tomorrow...

I was snappy at friend who later asked why I was grouchy. Sorry, friend. Didn't mean to but my mood just got the better of me. :(

I hope things will go well tomorrow.

The Beach Test

Hmm, just by what one does at the beach can be telling of one's personality? Well, I am not really a beach person. But what the heck, just try it for fun, lol. My responses are in purple.

What the Beach Test Says About You

You like people, but you're careful about who you get close to. Friendship is important to you... so important that you aren't just friends with anyone. Very true. You fall in love with ease and confidence. Even if you've had bad experiences in the past, each new love is a reason to start completely over. True. You are deeply passionate about several things in your life. You're not passionate about much... and the few passions you have are truly obsessions. Hahaha. Quite true. Your sense of humor is intellectual and obscure. Only really well educated people get your jokes. Is it?! I didn't know humour has intellectual kind too... :P

The Beach Test

Hope

Have you ever felt so tired of doing a certain thing that you want to just give up?

I have. Sometimes, I feel so much despair that I feel like giving up, throwing in the towel, calling it a day... you get the picture. But no matter how much I feel like giving up, I just couldn't do it. Somehow, something deep within me just simply refuses to give in, to give up... ... ...


because there deep within me still lingers the shimmers of hope.


"When the heart is enlivened again, it feels like the sun coming out after a week of rainy days. There is hope in the heart that chases the clouds away. Hope is a higher heart frequency and as you begin to reconnect with your heart, hope is waiting to show you new possibilities and arrest the downward spiral of grief and loneliness. It becomes a matter of how soon you want the sun to shine. Listening to the still, small voice in your heart will make hope into a reality. - Sara Paddison"

Speak Slang?

Yes, I was bored when I tried this blogthings.

Your Slanguage Profile

Aussie Slang: 100% British Slang: 50% New England Slang: 50% Victorian Slang: 50% Canadian Slang: 25% Prison Slang: 25%

What Slanguage Do You Speak?

No surprise there that I scored 100% for Aussie slang. I was living in Oz for a couple of years and have been going back to Oz quite regularly for holidays and meeting up with Aussie friends. Interesting though are my scores in New England slang, Victorian slang and British slang. Ok, maybe British slang I might have pick up a word or two from my brother who has been living in England since mid 90s. But I haven't been to New England nor I have been to the Victorian era... Hmm, how would I have known those slang? Maybe from the books I have read... lol.

Orange? Again?!

You Are An Orange Girl

You live in the fast lane. You love action, risk, and competition. You're spontaneous, enthusiastic, and persuasive. But you're also easily bored - and love to rebel against structures. You resent rules ... as well as people's attempts to control you!

What Color Girl Are You?

Hmm, I would have thought I would be a Red girl since I lose my temper quite easily, am pretty reckless, shows my displeasure without care... I am a chili padi as some of my friends would say. Lol.

I guess orange is me as well, in some ways. I hate rules and structures. I prefer to explore and learn for myself. I definitely hate people trying to control me, that is the fastest and surest way of losing me. Oh yes, I do get bored very easily. Haha. Yes, I love action, I love risk but I love competition meh?? I don't think I am competitive if I have good friends telling me that I should be more ambitious and NOT aspire to be a tai tai. Lol. :P

High Tea Buffet at The Dining Room

Having completed some work ahead of my own schedule, I decided to have a feast, of sorts, as a reward for myself, lol. We went to The Dining Room at Sheraton Towers Hotel for lunch. It is an international spread high tea buffet ($32 adult, $17 child). Not a lot of dishes as it is supposed to be high tea but it is filling enough. I enjoyed the sandwiches and the desserts the best, lol.

I had second helpings of the sandwiches. :)

The risotto was delicious.

Waffle with vanilla ice cream, strawberry, cinnamon apple and butterscotch banana. Yummy!

This is refreshing, aloe vera jelly with calamansi sorbet. I added the logan since I haven't had them for a LONG time, lol. :P

Although the spread was only average for a high tea buffet, the view of the cascading waterfall outside was beautiful. I guess can consider going back if the spread for dinner buffet is better.